


One Little Stomachache

by kayxpc



Category: Hockey RPF
Genre: Appendicitis, Emotions, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Pittsburgh Penguins
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-16
Updated: 2018-06-16
Packaged: 2019-05-23 23:47:15
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,248
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14943614
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kayxpc/pseuds/kayxpc
Summary: Geno had a stomachache. A really, really awful stomachache.





	One Little Stomachache

**Author's Note:**

  * For [CloudCover (RainyForecast)](https://archiveofourown.org/users/RainyForecast/gifts).



The percolator is already brewing downstairs when Geno wakes up. His alarm has been turned off, but the small sounds of Sidney moving around the house have roused him quicker than most other things would.

 It is, one-hundred percent the prospect of kissing Sid.

 They eat omelettes with cheese and spinach and discuss the defensive lines of Boston’s team and how best to get past them.

Game day rituals come and go just as regularly as they always do. Sid makes them identical pb & j’s while Geno watches fondly. As they eat in silence Geno starts to get a stomachache, so he ends up tossing the rest while Sid isn’t looking. It’s probably nothing.

—

Geno bends over to put his head between his knees in the third period. They’re up by one against the Bruins, but that could easily change with ten minutes and an extra skater for Boston. 

“G, what is it?” Hags pants as he slides in next to him on the bench. They just finished a shift. Geno had a terribly sharp pain in his lower belly, it felt like someone shoved the end of their stick into his abdomen. After they sharpened it into a shiv.

“Nothing, nothing.” Geno breathes loudly, sitting up and chewing on his bottom lip roughly. Ten more minutes and then he can go home and rest. It’s just a terrible stomachache. The time change from the road trip to Canada two days ago is probably still exhausting him, but he put up an assist tonight, so it’s fine.

The game ends 4-3, Penguins victory and Geno collapses in the locker room.

Sidney gets to him first, slapping his cheek, trying to get him to open his eyes. Someone gets Allison, the team physician, while Sidney finishes taking his shoulder pads off so that she can examine him. As soon as she touches Geno’s stomach, he shoots off the floor to escape her hands, gasping.

“Geno, I’m pretty sure you have appendicitis. Has your stomach been bother you today? Any nausea or vomiting?”

“Little bit, hurt. Now hurt more.” Geno groans, curling into himself and clutching at him stomach.

“Come on, you guys help him outside, I’ll go get my car.” Sidney snaps, looking terrified and angry and determined all at once. He bolts out of the room while Hags, Flower, and Tanger all help Geno walk to the entrance where Sidney’s waiting at the open passenger door to help.

—

Geno gets bad fast in the car. He throws up into an empty CVS bag twice as Sidney speeds to the hospital.

“How could you not tell me you were hurting? Geno, you should not have played tonight you could’ve gotten yourself— for christ’s _sake—_ “

Geno groans loudly in attempt to assuage him. The shiv in his stomach is being repeatedly jammed into him, making it hard to catch his breath. “How am I suppose– suppose– know that appendix explode? Thought it was just bad stomachache!” He shouts, and proceeds to throw up again.

Sidney fights the urge to argue. They’re supposed to tell each other everything, stomachache or not. He blows through a stop sign. Geno pukes again. He’s broken into a cold sweat that’s left him shaking and Sidney can feel the same chill echoing in his bones.

—

The hospital is a blur of green scrubs and questions that Sidney answers without even thinking. Geno’s Pens shirt is cut off with surgical scissors and he almost screams when the doctor palpates his stomach. Sidney gets knocked out of the way as he stands there staring at Geno writhing in pain, unable to do anything.

They tell him that the surgery will take an hour, maybe more maybe less.

He goes to the bathroom and splashes his face with cold water. He looks haggard in the mirror, anxiety ridden and flushed. His hands shake as he turns the faucet off.

“Mon ami,” Flower’s voice says as he comes into the bathroom. “Give me a minute,” he says through the crack in the door quietly, before approaching. He meets Sidney’s eye in the mirror before he puts a hand on his shoulder and shakes him gently, expelling a nasty thought from forming.

“He’s going to be okay. Appendicitis is very common, they do like, a million of these things every day.”

Sidney wipes his damp hands on his thighs. Wipes his cheek with the back of his hand. “I know. I know.”

Flower gives him a small, comforting smile. “We’re all gonna be in the waiting room, when you’re ready.”

Sidney nods and turns around to lean on the counter, putting his head in his hands. He knows how common this is, Taylor had her appendix removed at seven.

 _Taylor_.

This is Geno, his partner, best friend, his whole world. His rock. Sure, Geno gets sick, and he turns into a huge baby even though he’ll deny it until he’s blue in the face. He had his knee injury, and following recovery, but Sidney has never heard him yell like that, in such agony that his body can’t hold it in anymore.

Tanger has a protein shake bottled for him when he sits down, but he’s too queasy to down it, so he takes the water bottle instead.

Tanger starts a conversation about the game that he can mostly follow; when he can manage to focus on it and not the voices inside of his head. 

A nurse comes out about forty-five minutes later asking for someone for Evgeni Malkin. She actually gets the pronunciation right so Sid guesses she’s a hockey fan. Or at least doesn’t live under a rock.

“How is he? Can I see him yet?”

 “Are you the family of Mr. Malkin?”

“I’m his husband,” Sidney says.

She smiles at him. “He’s been in recovery for about twenty minutes, but the surgery went perfectly routine. I can let you and one other person in at a time to see him.”

 “You go first, we’ll see him in a bit,” Flower says and they all nod and smile. Sidney doesn’t have to be told twice, and he follows the nurse down the hall. 

“Hi, Sid.” Geno says softly, sounding more like _hiiisihhhhd_ than actual words. He’s laying down and the angle makes his neck scrunch up so much he almost has a double chin. He looks surprisingly soft, his eyes kind of droopy like he just woke up, which, Sid guesses he did. The anesthesia is still wearing off.

Sidney doesn’t feel himself moving across the room until he’s at Geno’s bedside, cupping his face. “Hi,” he says, and he feels hot, fat tears well in his eyes. 

Geno blinks at him dazedly, and smiles. Sidney rubs his thumb through the hair above his ear. “You scared me,” he whispers.

“Sorry, did not mean.” Geno replies. He dances his hand around on the bed, blindly searching for Sidney’s hand. Sid laces there fingers together and squeezes gently.

“Love you,” Geno murmurs, eyes slipping closed.

“I love you. I love you so much, Geno; please don’t ever leave me.” Sidney pushes his nose against the blanket covering Geno’s chest and breathes in the soft, blunted smell of antiseptic and Geno’s body wash.

“Mmkay Sid,” he hums affectionately, rubbing his free hand through Sidney’s hair. It’s the arm with his IV which pulls across the bed, but he doesn’t care. He pats Sidney’s head, dry and soft little bristles of his hair scratching his hand, and falls asleep again. 


End file.
